A great controversy has been raging among members of the church for the past few years. The differences that have been discussed have included such related issues as the church support of "orphan homes," "homes for the aged," and the "sponsoring church'' setup. While differing on these vital questions, agreement on other matters has been assumed. It has been generally believed that most of those who feel that the church has the right to contribute to the arrangements mentioned above have, at the same time, denied that it would be right for the church to contribute to colleges which are owned and operated by members of the church.

While it is still my belief that a vast majority of those who endorse the aforementioned arrangements would still oppose the "college in the budget" idea, I feel that our readers should be informed of a danger which is becoming more and more apparent.

Many of the preachers who have energetically attempted to prove the existence of divine authority for current practices are now finding that the logical conclusion to their own "logical" argumentation is the right of the churches to contribute to the colleges. Some are now saying: "Anything the individual can do, the church can do." This, therefore, "authorizes" the church to have banquets, sponsor boy scout troops, support colleges, and engage in just about every other activity which does not violate God's moral law.

Reliable information has been given to me concerning one of the churches in the Chicago area which has already sent contributions to Magic Valley Christian College in Idaho. And to keep the record straight, it should be noted that the president of this organization has not rejected these contributions, nor requested that the matter should be kept "hush, hush." In fact, the treasurer of the contributing church has indicated that the college president is indeed proud of the gift.

There are other indications that this feeling about accepting contributions from churches is shared by the administrators of other colleges The dean of one of the larger institutions operated by members of the church has reportedly stated: "Who are we to tell the elders of various churches how to spend their money?" I personally know of but two such institutions among us which would neither solicit nor accept contributions from churches.

It is my hope that the extreme liberal position involved in this issue, which will rapidly become the issue, will cause many to awake to the dangers that are before us. But, it is my fear that many who have been slowly drifting away from the old paths will be led to accept this liberal practice. Only time will tell.

Truth Magazine III:4, p. 2
January 1959